Highlights
- Controversial DRM developer Denuvo is bringing its anti-emulation toolset to the Nintendo Switch, aiming to counter potential piracy and increase revenue for developers.
- Denuvo has a negative reputation in gaming due to allegations of its DRM impacting game performance and forcing online connections, leading to a worse experience for PC gamers.
- Denuvo's addition to the Nintendo Developer Portal marks the first third-party security partner for the platform, raising questions about the necessity of Denuvo's DRM for Switch games and its impact on legal emulation efforts.
Anti-emulation DRM is coming to the Nintendo Switch as controversial developer Denuvo has announced it is offering its toolset for use on the platform. In addition to its typical DRM products, Denuvo will also be offering an option to prevent PC emulation of Switch games. Emulating Nintendo Switch games on PC is uncommon but growing in popularity. Denuvo believes Nintendo Switch developers can benefit substantially by using its anti-emulation DRM to counter potential piracy efforts.
Denuvo is a notorious brand in gaming. While it would like to think it's notorious for its efforts to curb piracy, that's not so much the case. Much of the negative association Denuvo has drawn is a result of its DRM's impact on game performance. Allegations that Denuvo DRM impacts CPU usage, rapidly degrades SSDs, and causes other issues are frequent. It's also often associated with forcing persistent online connections in games that could otherwise be offline. Sometimes these allegations are confirmed by game developers, but even when they're not PC gamers associate Denuvo with a worse experience.
Regardless of the negative association with Denuvo's DRM, the company sees a lucrative market opportunity on the Nintendo Switch. In a press release from Denuvo parent company Irdeto, it's confirmed that Denuvo's DRM is now available as authorized Nintendo Switch middleware via the Nintendo Developer Portal. The press release alleges that Denuvo's Nintendo Switch offering "integrates seamlessly ... with no impact on the gaming experience."
In addition to Denuvo's typical DRM solutions, the company is also offering a new tool that it has named Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection. Denuvo alleges that Nintendo Switch games without its protection can be "emulated from day one and played on PC." Denuvo will block these emulations, allowing companies to "increase their revenue during the game launch window." The pitch is that emulation protection is a "must have for publishers to monetize the games fairly" on Switch.
One interesting detail that Denuvo points out is that this is the very first security partner added to the Nintendo Developer Portal. In other words, all previous Nintendo Switch releases have gone without third-party DRM middleware like what Denuvo provides. That's not to say that games are without protection, but given the success of the Nintendo Switch and many games released for it there are bound to be questions regarding the necessity of Denuvo.
The decision to bring Denuvo to Nintendo Switch is understandably going to prove controversial among fans. Anti-emulation efforts may or may not impact PC piracy of Switch games, but it will certainly make it more difficult for legal Nintendo Switch emulation efforts and archival projects. Allegations of Denuvo causing Switch game performance issues are certain to be made going forward, as well. It will be interesting to see which Nintendo Switch developers, if any, opt to implement Denuvo's solutions going forward.
